As you know, Microsoft is consistent in pushing updates to its supported versions of the Windows operating systems in order to make it better and defend it from different kinds of vulnerabilities. And pushing billions of active Windows computers every now and then is really not an easy thing to do since it calls for a complex Windows Update delivery module. These complexities often give rise to various errors like the Windows Update error code 0x80004005.
When you encounter this kind of Windows Update error, you will see the following error message on your screen:
“There were problems installing some updates, but we’ll try again later. If you keep seeing this and want to search the web or contact support for information, this may help 0x80004005.”
This kind of Windows Update error occurs due to an issue while either installing or downloading an update. There are several ways you can fix the problem. You can try to replace the dpcdll.dll file, reset the Windows Update-related services, run the Windows Update troubleshooter or manually install the Windows Updates. For more details, check out the options given below.
Option 1 – Try to replace the DLL file with a trusted source
The first thing you can do is to replace the dpcdll.dll file with a trusted source.
- First, you need to get the new dpcdll.dll file from another computer with preferably the same file version number as your computer.
- After that, you need to boot your PC into Safe Mode and navigate to the paths listed below and then replace the file using a USB drive or other external storage devices.
- For x86: This PC > C:/Windows/System32
- For x64: This PC > C:/Windows/SysWOW64
- Next, type “cmd” in the Cortana search box and right-click on Command Prompt, and select “Run as administrator” to open it with administrator privileges.
- Now type the “regsvr32 dpcdll.dll” command and hit Enter.
- Restart your PC and check if the error is now fixed.
Option 2 – Try to reset the Windows Update components
If by any chance that the third option didn’t work, you can also try resetting the Windows Update components as it could also help you resolve the Windows Update error. How? Refer to the following steps:
- Open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
- After that, type each one of the following commands and hit Enter after you key in one after the other.
- net stop wuauserv
- net stop cryptsvc
- net stop bits
- net stop msiserver
Note: The commands you entered will stop the Windows Update components such as Windows Update service, Cryptographic services, BITS and MSI Installer.
- After disabling WU components, you need to rename both the SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2 folders. To do that, type each one of the following commands below and don’t forget to hit Enter after you type one command after the other.
- ren C:WindowsSoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old
- ren C:WindowsSystem32catroot2 Catroot2.old
- Next, restart the services you’ve stopped by entering another series of commands. Don’t forget to hit Enter after you key in one command after the other.
- net start wuauserv
- net start cryptsvc
- net start bits
- net start msiserver
- Close Command Prompt and reboot your PC.
Option 3 – Run the Windows Update Troubleshooter
You might also want to run the Windows Update Troubleshooter as it could also help in fixing Windows Update error 0x80004005. To run it, go to Settings and then select Troubleshoot from the options. From there, click on Windows Update and then click the “Run the troubleshooter” button. After that, follow the next on-screen instructions and you should be good to go.
Option 4 – Try downloading and installing the Windows Updates manually
Windows Update Error 0x80004005 might be due to a Windows Update that has failed. So if it is not a feature update and only a cumulative update, you can download the Windows Update and install it manually. But first, you need to find out which update has failed, and to do so, refer to the following steps:
- Go to Settings and from there go to Update and Security > View Update History.
- Next, check which particular update has failed. Note that Updates that have failed to install will be displayed under the Status column which has a label of “Failed”.
- After that, go to the Microsoft Download Center and look for that update using its KB number and once you find it, download and then install it manually.
Note: You can also use the Microsoft Update Catalog, a service from Microsoft that provides a list of software updates that can be distributed over a corporate network. With the help of this service, it can be easier for you to find Microsoft software updates, drivers as well as fixes.